5 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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GEMS OF TRUTH 

FOR CHILDREN. 



A SERIES OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTIONS 
ON DIFFERENT SUBJECTS; 



AND IS INTENDED TO 



Ml 



i x 



IMPRESS UPON THE MINDS OF THE YOUNG, THE 
TRUTHS OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



WRITTEN IN SIMPLE LANGUAGE. 



By H. B. BEENNEIAN. 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 



HERALD OF TRUTH' 5 PRINT, ELKHART, IND. 
1S73. ^ 



The Library 

of Congress 

washington 






Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1873, 

By H. B. BRENNEMAN, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington 

Right of translation reserved. 



PREFACE. 



The writer of this little book lias for 
years felt and taken a great interest in the 
welfare of the young, and has written much 
for their benefit; and in thus laboring for 
their good, his love for them has finally 
prompted him to undertake the work of 
writing a book especially adapted to the 
understanding of children. 

Although there are many books of this 
kind published, and many very good ones; 
but many also are found, on close exami- 
nation, to contain matter which does not 
correspond with the Word of God; and as 
it is my desire to labor for the promotion 
of Christ's kingdom, and believing that 
oftentimes more can be accomplished among 
children, than adults, I have been prompted, 



PREFACE. 

from the desire to gather souls for Christ, to 
write this little work. 

I know, from experience, that religious 
impressions made upon the minds of chil- 
dren, are a blessing to them already in 
childhood and youth, and remain a blessing 
to them as long as they live. May God 
add his blessing, that the object for which 
this work is published may be accomplish- 
ed, is the desire and prayer of the author. 




$&. 



TO MY YOUNG READERS. 



Dear children, Out of love to you, and 

a warm desire that yon may be happy 
in this world, and much more happy here- 
after, I have written you this little book. 
If I did not love you so dearly, and wish 
that you all may once be unspeakably 
happy with Jesus, your dear Savior; and 
did I not see the great danger you are in of 
being led into wickedness, and finally into 
that horrible place of punishment, I should 
not have written you this little book. 

I hope you will read it carefully, as you 
would a letter from a dear friend. I am 
your friend, and I love you with all my 
heart, and wish to meet you all in that 
beautiful home, where Jesus, the beautiful 
angels, and many of our loved ones are. 



TO MY YOUNG READERS. 

and where God himself is. I have tried to 
write it so that you can understand it, and 
hope you will not only read it once, and 
then lay it by, but read it as often as you 
can. Only do not neglect to read that best 
of all books, the Bible. 

Wishing you all God's blessing. I am 
your sincere friend until death. 



^^ afe- $s^ 



GEMS OF TRUTH. 

CHAPTER L 

THE POWER OF GOD. 

Dear children, Did yon ever think of the 
great power of God? Do yon know the 
meaning of the word power? It means to 
be able to do a thing. A strong man can 
lift and carry a heavy load. We say of 
snch a man, he has the power to carry 
a heavy load. If a man bnilds a honse, we 
may say, he has the power to do it. A 
person who is sick, and so weak that he 
cannot walk, has not the strength or power 
to walk; he is so weak that he cannot help 
himself. He has not the power to do 
anything. 

God is all-powerful; that is, he has the 
power to do whatsoever he will. When he 
made the world, there was nothing from 
which to make it. When a man builds a 
house, he must have boards and lath, and 



8 THE POWER OF GOD. 

other lumber from which to make it.* Men 
have the power to cut down trees, and saw 
them into logs, and draw them to the saw- 
mill, and saw them into lumber; but they 
have not the power to make trees grow; 
God makes them grow. There is nothing 
which he cannot do. 

In the beginning God created (made) the 
heavens and the earth. And the earth was 
without form; that is, it had no shape, and 
it was dark, because there was no sun, nor 
moon, nor stars to shine; but God had the 
power to make it light. He only said, "Let 
there be light," and as soon as he said this 
it became light. Afterwards he also made 
■y^e sun, the moon and the stars, to shine 
on the earth. how great and powerful is 
God! He has the power to destroy any- 
thing that he has made, just as easily as 
he could make it. 

God had the power to make all the 
beasts, the fishes, and the great whales; the 
worms, the little insects, and the birds that 
fly in the air; and last of all, he made the 
first man and the first woman, Adam and 
Eve. He made every one of us, and has 
the power to keep us alive, and also the 
power to take our lives from us at any 



THE POWER OF GOD. 9 

time lie pleases. We could not live one 
minute if God did not keep us alive by his 
almighty power. 

When the Children of Israel left the land 
of Egypt, and came to the Eed Sea, God 
divided the water, and it stood like two 
great walls, and they passed through 
between them on dry ground. And when 
the Egyptians went in and undertook to 
pass through after the Israelites, God made 
the waters come together again, and they 
were all drowned. 

Now, dear children, let us often think 
of the great power of God. Let us praise 
and honor him, for he has made everything 
good; yes, very good. Let us learn to love 
and obey this great God. O yes, let us sing 
praises to our Maker. David says, "Know 
ye that the Lord he is God; it is he that 
hath made us, and not we ourselves. Enter 
into his gates with thanksgiving and into 
his courts with praise." Ps. 100 : 3, 4. 

PRAYER. 

Great God, Thou who in the beginning 
didst create the heavens and the earth, and 
all that in them is, with thy almighty 
power, and didst call them very good; thou 



10 THE POWEB OF GOD. 

art my Creator and my Father, and I thank 
thee that thou didst give me life, and put 
me into this world to love and serve thee, 
the great God. I also thank thee for the 
many good blessings which thou didst give 
me to enjoy; and Oh Father, I now pray 
unto thee that thou wouldst come very near 
to me, and help me to understand and see 
more of thy great power. Put it within my 
heart to fear thee, and to love thee. I am 
young and weak, but thou art very great 
and powerful: do thou therefore hear me, 
and help me to do thy will. Help me to be 
one of thy children, and serve thee all the 
days of my life, and when I die, take me 
to live with thee in heaven, for Jesus' sake. 
Amen. 

O come, and let us loudly sing 

The praises of our Maker, God ; 
Let all the earth with praises ring; 

And his great power be told abroad. 

We come, Lord of hosts, we come,. 

With praise and honors to thy name ; 
For thou art God, and thou alone, 

With power and might dost ever reign. 

We praise thee for thy mighty power ; 

We praise thee for thy wondrous deeds ; 
With thanks and reverence we adore 

The Lord whose power alone exceeds. 



THE POWER OF GOD. 11 

Lord, how wondrous are thy works ; 

In wisdom hast thou made them all — 
The hills, the mountains, seas and rocks — 

Thou didst create them, great and small. 

Do thou, O Lord, our hearts renew, 
And fill us with thy love and praise ; 

That we with thanks and honors due, 
May love and serve thee all our days. 



12 THE GOODKESS OF GOD. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE GOODNESS OF GOD. 

I will now try to tell you of tlie goodness 
of God. He is just as good as lie is pow- 
erful. As he had the power to make all 
things, so his goodness is so great that he 
is not willing that anything he has made 
shall suffer. Could we live if we had noth- 
ing to eat? 0, no. We would soon get very 
weak, and die. Who gives us food, that 
we may eat? It is God. How does God 
give us food ? He causes the rain to fall on 
the earth, and the warm sun to shine on it, 
so that the wheat, and the corn, ^nd other 
vegetables from which our food is prepared, 
may grow. 

Is not God very good, in sending rain 
on the earth, and in causing the sun to 
shine that we may have something to eat? 
I am sure you will all say, 0, yes, he is 
very good. 

How could we live if we had no clothes 
to keep us warm in the cold winter ? Our 
bodies would get very cold indeed; and if 
we had no houses to live in, nor fire to 
warm by, we would all freeze to death. 



THE GOODNESS OF GOD. 13 

Who gives us our clothes ? It is God. 
How does lie give us clothes ? In the same 
way that I told you that he gives us food 
that we may eat. The rain and the sun- 
shine cause the grass to grow, so that the 
sheep, from which we get wool to make our 
good, warm clothes, may have something 
to eat. How pleasant it is to see a flock of 
sheep, quietly feeding on the beautiful, 
green grass, and the little Iambs skipping 
and playing in the warm sunshine around 
them. 

The cotton and the flax, from which our 
nice, summer clothes are made, are also 
made to grow by the rain and sunshine. 
The wood which we burn on our hearths 
and in our stoves, to keep us warm on cold, 
winter days, and to cook our food and 
bake our bread, God gives us in the same 
way. He has also, in many places, filled 
the earth with coal, to burn where the 
wood is scarce. 

God is also very good in keeping us 
alive from day to day; in giving us health, 
that we may enjoy ourselves, and that we 
may work and prepare the good things 
which he has given us for our comfort. He 
is good in giving us kind parents, brothers 



14 THE GOODKESS OF GOD. 

and sisters, and friends, to love us, and 
help to make us comfortable and happy. 

Yes, dear children, God gave us every- 
thing we have. There is nothing that we 
have that he has not given to us. Ought 
we not love him for his goodness, in giving 
us all these good things, and so kindly 
watching us and taking care of us ? Let us 
thank him for all these things, and ask 
him every day to keep us from harm, and 
to bless our kind friends, our parents, 
brothers and sisters; and help us to love 
and obey him. 

PRAYER. 

O Lord, I thank thee that thou art so 
good to me; I thank thee for my food and 
clothes; for parents, brothers, sisters and 
kind friends. Do thou bless them, and take 
care of them; and do thou help me to love 
and obey them, and be kind to them; help 
me to love thee; make me one of thy little 
lambs. Forgive all my sins, and give me a 
new, clean heart. These blessings I ask 
for Jesus' sake, Amen. 

" Let every heart rejoice and sing, 
Let cheerful anthems rise ; 



THE GOODNESS OF GOD. 15 

Ye rev'rend men and children bring, 
To God your sacrifice. 

For lie is good, the Lord is good, 

And kind are all his ways ; 
With songs and honors sounding loud, 

The Lord Jehovah praise, 

He bids the sun to rise and set," 

The gentle rain to fall ; 
And heavenly blessings too, we get, 

When on his name we call. 

O gracious Lord, we pray thee now, 

Fill all our hearts with love ; 
May every knee before thee bow, 

And lift our hearts above. 

May we in all these bounteous stores, 

Thy wondrous goodness see ; 
Our hearts thy glorious name adore, 

May we all worship thee. 



16 THE LOVE OF GOD. 

CHAPTER III. 

THE LOVE OF GOD. 

Dear children, Have you some kind 
friends, a father, mother, brother or sister 
whom you love? Do you ever put your little 
arms around your mother's neck, and say, 
O, my dear mother, I love you so much? 
Does your mother ever hold you close to 
her bosom and kiss you, and call you her 
dear little boy, or dear little girl ? Perhaps 
you think it is not possible that any one 
can love you more than your dear mother, 
or some other kind friend; yet it is possi- 
ble. God loves you more. 

If we had a kind friend whom we loved 
very dearly, we would do all we could to 
make such a one happy; but if that friend 
should begin to treat us unkindly, and try 
to make us miserable, and cause us pain, 
and do nothing that would please us; 
would we not be apt to turn against such a 
one ? We would no more consider him as 
a friend — he would be our enemy. Do you 
think we would love him? I am afraid 
not; it is not our nature to love those who 



THE LOVE OF GOD. 17 

treat us unkindly; yet Jesus commands us 
to love our enemies; and this we can do if 
he helps us. We cannot love their wicked 
acts, but we can love their souls, treat them 
kindly and try to make them happy, and 
pray for them. 

Does not God do all he can to make us 
happy ? There is no one on earth who can 
do, or does so much for us as he; yet many 
of ns are disobeying him all the time, and 
doing a great many things that he tells 
us not to do. 

God loved us so much that he sent 
Jesus, his dear Son, down from heaven that 
he might tell us how we may become 
happy. When Jesus came he went about 
doing good, and never treated any one ill. 
He was very lovely and kind, and never 
became angry towards any one. Even if 
wicked men treated him unkindly, he was 
always kind and pleasant towards them. 

"I want to be like Jesus, 

So lowly and so meek; 
For no one marked an angry word 

That ever heard him speak." 

God knew when he sent Jesus into this 
world, that wicked men would put him to 



18 THE LOVE OF GOD. 

death, yet he so loved us, that he was 
willing that his Son should suffer death, 
rather than that we should never be made 
happy. 

Now dear children, as G-od loves us so 
much, and has done so much to make us 
happy, let us all love him, and obey 
that great commandment which his Son, 
Jesus taught us, in Mark 12: 30, "Thou 
shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all 
thy mind, and with all thy strength." 

PRAYER. 

Our Father who art in heaven, as thou 
lovest me so much, and hast done so much 
for me, I desire to thank thee, and praise 
thee for all that thou hast done for me. O r 
dear Father, help me to love thee with all 
my heart, soul, mind and strength, that I 
may be one of thy children. Make me good 
and obedient, and help me to keep all thy 
commandments, and at last, when I die, 
take me to live with thee and all thy chil- 
dren, in thy kingdom, all for Jesus, my 
dear Redeemer's sake. Amen. 



THE LOVE OF GOD. 19 

O Lord, we know that thou dost love 

Thy children here below ; 
And though thou art in heaven above, 

Thy love to us dost show. 

Do thou, we pray thee, O, our God, 

Help us to love thee more ; 
That we to all be kind and good, 

And thee, our God adore. 

And do thou fill our hearts, we pray, 

With an obedient will; 
That we with love and reverence may> 

All thy commands fulfill. 



20 

CHAPTER IV. 

GOD'S PROMISES. 

God promises so many good things to 
those who love and fear him, and keep his 
commandments, that it would make a very 
long chapter to tell them ; so I will tell only 
some of the most important ones. All that 
is in the Bible is called God's word, although 
it was all written by men; but they were 
men whom God loved, and he told them 
what to write, so that it is the same as if 
he had written it himself. 

David says, "They that seek the Lord, 
shall not want any good thing." Here God 
promises us that if we seek him, that is, if 
we come to him in prayer, and learn to do 
his will, he will give us everything we need. 
He will give us food, and clothing, and 
whatever will make us comfortable in this 
world. 

Again, David says, "The righteous cry, 
and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them 
out of all their troubles." This means 
that when those who love and obey God, 
get into any trouble, and call on him in 
prayer, he will hear them and help them. 



god's peomises. 21 

You who have kind parents, do they let 
you suffer when you get hurt or sick ? Do 
they just let you go and do the best you 
can? No, they pity you, and do all they 
can to make you happy. The Bible says, 
"Like as a father pitieth his children, so 
the Lord pitieth them that fear him." 

As long as we do not love God, and 
would rather disobey him and do wicked 
things than to please him, our hearts are 
full of wickedness, and we think of things 
which grieve and displease him, more than 
we think of his love and kindness, or how 
we may please him; and before we can be 
good and obedient to God, our thoughts 
must be changed, so that we may think in 
what way we may please him — we must 
have new hearts. God says, " A new heart 
also will I give you." 

When we have received a new heart, and 
our desires are to do what God wishes us 
to do, we must have his Holy Spirit to lead 
and direct us in the right way. God says, 
"And I will put my Spirit within you." 
Jesus calls the Spirit of God, the Spirit of 
truth, and says, " When he, the Spirit of 
truth is come, he will guide you into all 
truth." 



22 god's peomises. 

After God has given us new hearts, and 
put his Holy Spirit within us, we must 
watch and pray every day, as long as we 
live; we must not only love and obey him 
a little while, and then stop doing so, but 
we must be faithful as long as we live. We 
must not let ourselves be led into wicked- 
ness, but pray to God to deliver us from 
evil, until we die; then he will receive us 
into those mansions above where we shall 
always be happy. We shall wear a beau- 
tiful crown, bright and sparkling. Jesus 
says, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I 
will give thee a crown of life." 

PRAYER. 
Almighty God, As I am young and 
tender, do thou hear me, and come near to 
me. I desire to seek thee and obey thee. 
Do thou hear my prayer, and help me so 
to live that I may have a share in thy pre- 
cious promises which thou hast promised 
to those that love and serve thee. Give me 
a new heart; and give me thy Holy Spirit 
to lead me into all truth. Help me to be 
faithful unto death, that I may receive a 
crown of life, through Jesus. Amen. 



god's peomises. 23 

" With humble heart and tongue, 

My God, to thee I pray ; 
O, bring me now, while I am young, 

To thee, the living way. 

My heart, to folly prone, 

Renew by power divine ; 
Unite it to thyself alone, 

And make me wholly thine. 

O, let thy word of grace 

My warmest thoughts employ ; 
Be this, through all my foil' wing days, 

My treasure and my joy. 

To what thy laws impart, 

Be my whole soul inclined ; 
Come, Jesus, dwell within my heart, 

And sanctify my mind." 



24 THE FEAB OF THE LOED. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE FEAR OF THE LORD. 

"Conie ye children, hearken unto me; 
I will teach you the fear of the Lord." 
Psalm 34: 11. 

The word fear, means, to be afraid. 
When we are afraid of anything, because 
we think it will hurt us, then we fear it. 

When we have kind parents or friends 
whom we are sure will not hurt us, or do us 
any harm, are w T e afraid of them ? No, we 
love them, and we are very careful that we 
do not hurt their feelings, or grieve them in 
any way. We are afraid we might do 
something to displease them; that is we 
fear, that in some way we might do 
something with which they would not be 
pleased; and this we do not wish to do, 
because we love them. 

I once asked a little boy if he tried to 
be a good boy, and then asked him why he 
ought to be good ? He answered, " So I do 
not get whipped." This little boy had fear, 
but it was not the kind of fear that should 
have made him a good boy. He feared 
that if he was not a good boy his parents 



THE FEAR OF THE LORD. 25 

would punish him. He did not love his 
parents as he ought to have done, or his an- 
swer would have been, Because my parents 
love me, and I love them ; and if I was not 
a good boy it would make them sorry and 
give them pain, which I do not wish to do. 

Dear children, Do you think we ought 
to fear God, because he threatens to punish 
us if we do not keep his commandments ? 
Would he be pleased with us if we were 
afraid to steal, lie, cheat, curse and swear 
because we know he would punish us for it? 
Wo, I cannot believe that he would be well 
pleased with us, because if we had not been 
afraid of his punishment, we would have 
stolen, cheated, lied, cursed and sworn. 

The children of God fear him because 
they love him. They first think of his love, 
pity and kindness towards them. The 
many good blessings they receive from him 
fills their hearts with thankfulness and 
love. They feel that he loves them more 
than they are able to repay, and they do 
all they can to please him. They watch 
and pray; they fear that they might do 
something wrong. 

This, dear children, is the fear of the 
Lord, O, let us all think of the wonderful 



26 THE FEAR OF THE LORD. 

love of God; of all that lie lias done, and 
that he is daily doing for ns ; and let us try- 
to love him above everything else, and keep 
his commandments with fear towards him. 
" The fear of the Lord is the beginning 
of wisdom," Psalm 111: 10. "He will 
bless them that fear the Lord, both small 
and great," Psalm 115: 13. "Fear the 
Lord, and depart from evil," Prov. 3 : 7. 
"Fear God, and give glory to him," Rev- 
elation 14 : 7. 

PRAYER. 
Merciful Father, Do thou be pleased to 
look upon me in pity, and bless a little 
child like me. Help me to fear thee, that I 
may obey thee with a willing heart. Fill 
my heart with that love which will make 
me fear to disobey thee. O, help me to 
love thee more than I have ever done; and 
forgive my ingratitude towards thee in 
time past; and let me walk in thy fear all 
the days of my life. Hear my prayer, and 
make me one of thy obedient children, for 
Jesus' sake. Amen. 

"Come children, learn to fear the Lord, 

And that your days be long ; 
Let not a false nor spiteful word 

Be found upon your tongue." 



OF THE SOUL. 27 

CHAPTER VI, 

OF THE SOUL. 

Children, Do you know what we mean 
when we talk about our souls ? When we 
speak of our bodies, you know we mean 
our head, neck, arms, hands, breast, back, 
legs, feet, and all that is of us, these form 
our bodies. Our bodies are flesh, and 
bones, and blood, and sinews; but the soul 
— what is it! 

The soul is that which thinks, acts, loves 
and hates. A little girl was once asked 
what her soul was. She answered, "It is 
my think." This was a good answer. You 
have a soul in your body, and I have a 
soul; and so, has every one. The body is 
only a house in which the soul lives while 
here in this world. When the body dies, 
the soul will leave it. The soul is that part 
of us which never dies. It will be happy or 
unhappy after the body is dead. 

If we have loved and obeyed God, we, 
that is, our souls, will be happy after our 
bodies are dead ; but if we have been wicked 
and disobedient towards God, we will be 
unhappy after our bodies are dead, for God 



28 OF THE SOUL. 

will punish those who are wicked. When we 
have done something which we know to be 
wrong, we always feel sad and miserable, 
that is, our thoughts, our souls are punished. 

When those die who have always been 
disobedient towards God, then all the 
wicked things they have ever done will 
come back to their souls and punish them. 
Oh, what a great punishment that will be, 
when they remember the thousands of 
wicked acts which they have done while 
they lived! And to know that they must 
be forever shut out of heaven, that happy 
place, away from God and the blessed 
Savior, and all the happy souls who loved 
and obeyed God while here on the earth, 
will make their punishment still greater. 

Now I hope my little readers have un- 
derstood me, and know what the soul is. 
When I was a little boy, and heard people 
talk about the soul, I did not understand 
what it was. I did not know that it meant 
the mind, or thoughts. 

Let us all ask God to help us so to live, 
that he will be pleased with us, and at last 
take us to live with him and with Jesus, the 
holy angels, and all the good people who 
have ever lived in this world. 



OF THE SOUL. 29 

PKAYER. 

Blessed Father in heaven, I humbly pray 
thee in the name of Jesus, who died for me, 
that thou wouldst cleanse my soul from all 
that is vile and filthy, and make me pure 
and clean. Come near to me and make 
me one of thy little ones. Watch me when 

I sleep and when I wake, and let me not be 
led away into wickedness, but lead me in 
the way that I should go, and at last save 
me in thy kingdom through Jesus Christ. 
Amen. 

The Lord my God, to me did give, 

A soul that never more can die ; 
O, may that soul forever live 

With him, above the starry sky. 

A body too, to me he gave, 

In which my soul awhile may stay; 

But soon, this body, in the grave, 
Will lie and crumble into clay. 

Help me, O Lord, while here below, 
To walk in wisdom's pleasant way ; 

May I, in all I say or do, 
My Maker never disobey. 

Then when my body faints and dies, 
And must be laid within the tomb ; 

My soul shall fly above the skies, 
To live in its eternal home, 



30 ABOUT SI2ST. 

CHAPTER VII. 

ABOUT SIN. 

The word sin means disobedience. Ev- 
ery time we disobey God, we sin against 
him. A sinner is one who sins. All the 
people in the world are sinners, because 
all have disobeyed God. 

When God made the first man and the 
first woman, and put them in the beautiful 
garden, they were not sinners, because they 
had not yet disobeyed him. He then told 
them that they might eat of the fruit of 
every tree in the garden, but one; of this 
tree he said they should not eat; but there 
was a wicked being, called Satan, who came 
to them, and said that they might eat of 
the fruit of this tree; that they would not 
die, as God had said they would. 

After Satan had told them these things, 
Eve took some of the fruit from the tree, 
and did eat; she also gave some of it to 
Adam, and he did eat. So they disobeyed 
God by eating of the fruit which he told 
them not to eat, and they became sinners. 
Because they disobeyed God, he drove 
them out of the beautiful garden* 



ABOUT SIN". 31 

After they had been driven out of the gar- 
den, they received children, and because they 
disobeyed God in the garden, and became 
sinners, their children also were sinners ; and 
one of them, whose name was Cain, became 
so wicked that he killed his brother Abel. 

Besides Cain and Abel, they also had 
other children, but they were all sinners, 
because their parents had disobeyed, and 
sinned against God. These sons and 
daughters of Adam and Eve, also had 
children, and these again had children, 
until after a while there came to be a great 
many people in the world, but they were 
all sinful and wicked. 

As there came to be more people in the 
world, they also became more wicked; so 
very wicked indeed, that God was very 
much displeased with them, and said he 
would send a great flood of water on the 
earth, and destroy them. 

Among the thousands of people that 
were on the earth, there was only one who 
loved and obeyed God. His name was 
Noah; and God loved him, and told him to 
build an ark, that would float on the water, 
so that he and his children could go in 
and be safe from the great flood which he 
3 



32 ABOUT SIN. 

would send on the earth. He told him also 
of what he should build it, and how large, 
with lower, second and third stories. 

The ark was made like a great boat; 
and when the time came for the flood to be 
upon the earth, God commanded Noah to 
go into the ark; he and his wife, and his 
three sons and their wives. God also said 
he should take into the ark of all the 
beasts, and of all the birds, and of every- 
thing which he had made that could not 
live in the water. 

And when they were all in, God shut the 
door of the ark, and then it began to rain, 
and rained forty days and forty nights, 
and the water became so high that it went 
above the highest mountains, and the peo- 
ple, and everything which could not live in 
the water, was drowned. 

I might tell you a very long story about 
the flood, and after it was over that the 
children of Noah's sons became wicked, and 
when there came to be a great many people 
again, they disobeyed God, and how he 
punished them for their wickedness. 

I will only tell you that when Adam and 
Eve disobeyed God, and became sinners 
they could no more be with him ; and if God 



ABOUT SIN. 33 

had not pitied them, they, and all the peo- 
ple that should ever come into the world 
after them, could never have lived with 
him, nor have been happy. But he still 
loved them; and after they had disobeyed, 
he promised to send One into the world 
who would prepare a way, and teach the 
people what to do that he might forgive 
them their sins, and that they could again 
become his children, and he would be their 
Father, and give them a home in heaven. 

Now, dear children, I have told you 
what sin is, and how the people became 
sinners. In the next chapter I will tell you 
how Jesus came to save sinners We are 
all sinners, and have often disobeyed God. 
Let us all come, and ask him, in the name 
of Jesus, to forgive us our sins, and give us 
new hearts, that we may hate sin, and love 
God, and do the things which Jesus has told 
us to do ; that we may be happy while we 
live in this world, and then live with him in 
heaven for ever. 

PRAYER. 

Kind, heavenly Father, Help me now to 
feel that I am a sinner; and Oh! give me a 
heart that I may hate sin, and feel how 



34 ABOUT SIN. 

dreadful it is in thy sight, that I may 
always turn away from it. I thank thee 
that thou didst send Jesus into the world to 
save sinners; and Oh, I pray thee, Father, 
in the name of Jesus, that thou wouldst 
forgive my sins, and help me to be one of his 
followers. I am a poor, weak child, and sur- 
rounded by sin and wickedness, and I fear 
that I may also be tempted and led away. 
Oh, help me that I may not be overcome. 
Give me thy Holy Spirit, to lead me in the 
ways of truth and holiness, that when I die, I 
may live with thee in heaven forever. Amen. 

I am a poor sinner, from Adam I came, 
(Whom Satan, with lies, did beguile), 

All stained with uncleanness, and misery and shame — 
My soul is all guilty and vile. 

But Jesus, my Savior, from heaven did come, 

To suffer, to bleed, and to die ; 
And now all poor sinners again may come home, 

To dwell with their Maker on high. 

O Lord, my Creator, I pray thee now hear 

A poor, helpless creature like me — 
Great dangers surround me — I tremble, I fear ; 

Oh, let me come near unto thee. 

And O, blessed Jesus, come near me, I pray — 

A lamb of thy care I would be ; 
"With thee, the good Shepherd, I ever would stay — 

0, let me now come unto thee. 



OUR SAVIOK. 35 

CHAPTER VIIL 

OUR SAVIOR. 

PART I. 

A savior is one who saves others from 
danger or destruction. If a person were to 
fall into a deep pit or well, out of which it 
would be impossible for him to climb; and 
unless some one would find him there and 
help him out, he would have to stay there 
and die; but if one would help him out, he 
would be his savior. 

If we had done some dreadful crime, 
pehaps killed one of our fellows, and were 
put into prison, and on a day appointed 
were to be brought out and hung; and if we 
had a friend to whom we had been very 
kind, and who loved us dearly, and he were 
to go to the governor, and say, "Let me 
take the place of my friend, and let his life 
be spared; you may take my life instead of 
his, so that his life may be saved." If the 
governor would grant his petition, and say, 
"Then we will take your life, and spare 
the life of your friend," this friend would 
be our savior, because he had saved our life. 

Dear children, I will tell you of a Friend 



36 OUR SAVIOE. 

who has done more for us than he who 
would save the life of our body. He died 
to save our souls. Our bodies will all die 
before long, but our souls will never die. 
This Friend who died to save our souls, is 
Jesus, the One whom God promised to send 
into the world, after Adam and Eve had 
disobeyed him in the garden. 

God had told Adam and Eve that in the 
day they would eat of that fruit, which he 
told them not to eat, they should die. And 
did they die ? Yes, they died. Their bodies 
did not die, but their souls died; which 
means, they became disobedient towards 
God; they became sinners, and could no 
longer be happy in the beautiful garden, 
but God drove them out. 

They were no longer God's friends as 
they had been before. By the disobedience 
of Adam and Eve, we all became sinners, 
and could never have been the friends of 
God, nor happy, if he had not loved and 
pitied us. But he promised to send us a 
Savior who should die for us. 

PART II. 

After many years this Savior came. 
And who was it? It was Jesus, God's own 



OUR SAVIOR. 



37 




Son. He came to be the sinners' friend; to 
be my friend, and your friend, and the 
friend of every one, because we are all 



38 OUR SAVIOR. 

sinners. He came to show ns the way 
that we might again become the friends 
of God. 

But before we could become friends with 
God, Jesus must die. When he had been 
here awhile, and had done much good, and 
made many people happy, he was taken 
by wicked men and put to death. They took 
him and nailed him to a cross to die. When 
he was dying, he said, "It is finished." 

He meant, the work which his Father 
had given him to do, was finished. He had 
died for us; and now we could be the 
friends of God, and be saved and made 
happy. If we come to this Savior, and 
learn of him what he wants us to do, and 
pray to God in his name to forgive our 
sins, he will forgive us, and we shall become 
the friends and children of God. 

Dear children, Was not this wonderful 
love in God to send us a Savior ? Oh, let us 
think what poor, miserable creatures all of 
us would have been, if God had not prom- 
ised, and sent this great Savior to die for 
us. Now as he has died for us, let us come 
to him, and have our sins forgiven, and be 
made happy. 

If we do not come to him to be saved 



OUR SAVIOR. 39 

from our sins, we will be just as miserable, 
and more so than if he had not come. 
After those have died who would not come 
to him to be saved, they will be very un- 
happy indeed. When they think back how 
happy they might have been made, but 
would not come to the Savior, 0, how great 
it will make their punishment! 

I hope no one who will read this little 
book will refuse to come to the blessed 
Savior. Just think how great his sufferings 
must have been, when they drove the rough 
nails through his hands and feet, and then 
left him hang by the nails until he was 
dead. When he died, the sun was dark- 
ened, and did not shine; the whole earth 
shook, and the rocks were broken in pieces. 
He certainly would not have suffered this 
dreadful pain, if it were not to save us from 
a terrible punishment. 

Is it not very strange that any one 
should refuse to come to this great Savior? 
It is certainly the strangest thing that we 
can think of, that there are so many who 
will not be persuaded to come and have 
their sins forgiven, and learn to love the 
dear Savior, who is the best friend that we 
can have in this world! 



40 OUR SAVIOR. 

PRAYEE. 

O Lord, I thank thee with all my heart, 
that thou didst so love us, as to send thy 
dear Son into the world to be our Savior. 
O, I pray thee, fill my heart with love, 
praise and gratitude to thee for this won- 
derful love towards us, poor sinners; and 
grant, heavenly Father, that he may be my 
Savior. Draw me by thy Holy Spirit, that 
I may accept him, and become one of that 
great multitude which cannot be numbered, 
to stand before thy throne, to sing songs of 
praise to God and the Lamb forever. Hear 
and grant the prayer of a poor, helpless 
child, for Jesus, my dear Savior's sake. 
Amen. 

11 Jesus, Savior, pity me, 
Hear me when I cry to thee ; 
I've a very wicked heart, 
Full of sin in every part. 

When I try to do thy will, 
Sin is in my bosom still ; 
And I soon do something bad, 
Then my heart is dark and sad. 

Now I come to thee for aid, 
All my hope on thee is stayed ; 
Thou hast bled and died for me, 
I will give myself to thee." 



THE NATUKE OF JESUS. 41 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE NATURE OF JESUS. 

Children, Do you know of a kind, good- 
natured friend — an old grandfather or 
grandmother, whom you have never seen 
angry, but is kind and pleasant to all, and 
has a kind word for every one; and cheers, 
comforts, encourages and helps those who 
are sick or in trouble? If you know such a 
one, you have perhaps said to your father 

or mother, "Old grandfather is such a 

good man, or grandmother is such a 

very good woman; or this or that uncle or 
aunt is so very good and kind." 

I know some such good, kind-hearted 
persons, who are very kind and pleasant 
indeed, and I believe they love God, and 
try to do what Jesus wants them to do. 
What makes such persons so very kind 
and good? It is God's Holy Spirit in their 
hearts. They are filled with the love of 
Jesus, and they love every one they meet, 
and desire to make others as happy as 
they can, and do all the good that is in 
heir power to do. 

This was the nature of Jesus when he 



42 THE NATURE OF XESUS. 

was here in this world, only he was much 
more kind and pleasant than any other one 
that ever was in this world. He was never 
known to be angry, although he was often 
ill-treated, mocked and falsely accused of 
many things ; yet he bore them all patiently, 
and never threatened, nor ever returned 
any act or abuse that was brought against 
him by the wicked people. 

He had the power to cure those who 
were sick, because he was the Son of God. 
He could make those who were blind, to 
see; could bring to life those who were 
dead; those who had crooked legs or arms 
he could make straight. He was so kind 
and good that he [healed all who came to 
him of whatever sickness they had. 

The Bible tells us that he went about 
doing good, and healing all that were op- 
pressed of the devil; for God was with him. 
Acts 10 : 38. Sometimes he walked all day 
through the country, so that in the evening 
he was very tired; yet he would often go 
up into a mountain to pray to his heavenly 
Father. Sometimes he would stay out all 
night in prayer. 

If we wish to follow Jesus, and be his 
"little ones," we must become like him; do 



THE NATURE OF JESUS. 43 

all the good we can; be kind and loving to 
everybody, and always be ready to help 
others whenever and wherever our help is 
needed. If we wish to be like him, to 
have his nature, and do as he did, we 
must pray often to God to give us the spirit 
of Jesus. 

We are told in the Bible, that if any 
man have not the spirit of Christ, he is 
none of his. Now the spirit, or nature of 
Jesus was this, He was mild and gentle; 
he was loving and kind; he was merciful, 
and pitied those who were sick or in 
trouble, and helped them; he loved even his 
enemies, and prayed for them; he was not 
proud, but ; he was meek and lowly in 
heart; he cared nothing about the fashions 
and vain things of this world, but hated 
and reproved them ; he loved to be in 
company with the poor, and the humble, 
rather than the rich and the high, and he 
did good to those who hated and ill- 
treated him. 

My dear little readers, Let us try to be 
like Jesus, that we may be his "little ones. n 
Let us pray often, and ask him to give u& 
his Spirit, that we may love and obey him 
here, and live with him after we die. 



44 THE NATURE OF JESUS. 

PRAYER. 
O Lord, Hear me now when I pray unto 
thee. I thank thee, O, I thank thee, that 
thou didst send thy Son, Jesus, into the 
world to teach us thy ways and will; to 
give us an example how we must do to be 
thy children. I want to do thy will, and 
follow Jesus, and be one of his little ones; 
but I am weak, and can do nothing without 
thy help. I pray thee, therefore, do thou 
strengthen and help me. And O, dear Jesus, 
come near to me, and let me come to thee; 
give me thy nature, thy Spirit, that I may 
be thine, and only thine. Make me to hate 
everything in this world, which thou hatest, 
and to love what thou lovest; and remove 
far from me vanity and foolishness. Pre- 
pare me to follow thee, and to do thy will; 
wash me, and make my heart pure and 
clean, that I may, when I die, go to live 
with thee in thy beautiful home in heaven. 
Amen. 

"I want to be like Jesus, 

So lowly, and so meek ; 
For no one marked an angry word, 

That ever heard him speak. 

I want to be like Jesus, 
So frequently in prayer, 



THE NATUBE OF JESUS. 45 

Alone upon the mountain top, 
He met his Father there. 

I want to be like Jesus — 

I never, never find, 
That he, though persecuted, was 

To any one unkind. 

Alas ! I'm not like Jesus, 

As any one may see — 
O gentle Savior, send thy grace 

And make me like to thee." 

Yes, take me, blessed Savior, 

And cleanse me from all sin ; 
O change my haughty nature, 

And make me pure within. 



46 JESUS 5 LOVE FOR 

CHAPTER X. 

JESUS 5 LOVE FOR THE CHILDREN. 

Dear children, Is this not a very pleas- 
ant thought ? Just think of it — Jesus, the 
Son of God, the great Savior of the world, 
so holy and so pure! He who never sinned, 
never once disobeyed his Father. There 
never was so kind and lovely a person on 
the earth as he was. He was everybody's 
friend, and was willing to do good to every 
one who came to him. 

This dear, holy Jesus loves you, my 
little readers. Even the dearest and best 
friend you have in this world cannot love 
you as much as he does. If all the people 
in the world should join together, they 
could not do as much for you as he did. 

But how do we know that Jesus loves 
the children ? Why by this : At one time 
when he was here on the earth, some 
mothers brought their children to him, that 
he should bless them, and those who were 
with him, perhaps thought they would dis- 
turb or annoy him ; so they told the women 
to take their children away; but when Jesus 
saw that they did not want the children to 



THE CHILDREN. 47 





come to him, he was much displeased, and 
said, "Suffer the little children to come 
unto me, and forbid them not; for of such 
is the kingdom of God. And he took them 
up in his arms, put his hands upon them, 
and blessed them." 

Would you not be glad, dear children, 
if he was here now, and would put his bles- 
sed, holy hands on your heads, and bless 
you ? I often think of that beautiful hymn, 
which says, 

"I wish that his hands had been placed on my head, 
That his arms had been thrown around me ; 

And that I might have seen his kind look when he said, 
Let the little ones come unto me." 

He loves you, my little friends, just as 
much as he did those children which he 
4 



48 JESUS 5 LOYE EOS 

took up in Ms arms; and will bless you 
just as much, and you can come just as 
near to Mm as those children did. If you 
love' Mm, and Jwish to obey him, and ask 
him in prayer, to bless you, and give you 
a clean heart, he will come very near to 
you, although you cannot see Mm as the 
children did then; but if you love him 
dearly, and try to do what he has told us 
all that we must do, when you die, you 
will be taken to heaven where he is; then 
you can see him. You will then be like 
the beautiful, holy angels, and be as happy 
as they are. 

Jesus wants you all to become happy, 
and has prepared a beautiful home for you 
in heaven. There are thousands of little 
children there with him already, and O, 
how happy they are! He loves to hear little 
children pray; and he will surely answer 
them, and bless them. 

Dear children, Will you now love Jesus, 
and become one of his little ones, and 
receive his blessing? Let us all love and 
obey him, since he loved us so much, and 
gave his life to save us. Let us ask him to 
€ome near to us, and help us to love and 
obey him, and be made happy. 



THE CHILDREN. 49 



PRAYER 



Q, our kind, heavenly Father, Hear now 
the prayer of a little child like me. I want 
to love and obey thee, and have my sins 
forgiven, and be made pure and clean. 0, 
forgive me, and give me a new heart, that I 
may love thee and do thy will. And 0> 
dear Jesus, come also very near to me, for 
I am one of the little ones for whom thou 
didst die, and I know that thou dost love 
me; and as the kingdom of heaven is of 
such as I am, let me not stray away from 
thee, but help me that I may always stay 
in that holy kingdom, that when I dfe I 
may come to live with thee in heaven. I 
thank thee, O Lord, that thou didst send 
Jesus to be our friend and Savior. Help 
me to love and follow him; and may I be 
thankful unto thee, and love thee with all 
my heart. Hear my prayer, and give me 
all the blessings I need in this world, and 
at last save me in thy kingdom above, for 
Jesus, my Redeemer's sake. Amen. 

" Jesus loves me ! this I know, 
For the Bible tells nie so — 
Little ones to him belong ; 
They are weak, but he is strong. 



50 JESUS' LOYE FOE THE CHILDREN. 

Jesus loyes me ! lie who died, 
Heaven's gate to open wide ; 
He will wash away my sin, 
Let his little child come in. 

Jesus loves me ! loves me still, 
Though I'm very weak and ill ; 
From his shining throne on high, 
Comes to watch me where 1 lie," 

Jesus loves me ! he will lead, 
And protect me night and day ; 
Jesus is my friend indeed, 
And he hears me when I pray. 

" Jesus loves me ! he will stay 
Close beside me all the way ; 
• If I love him till I die, 

He will take me home on high." 



THE NATURE OF SATAN. 51 

CHAPTER XL 

THE NATURE OF SATAN". 

There is a very wicked being called 
Satan; lie is also called the devil. He is in 
this world among the people, although we 
cannot see Mm, because he is a spirit. His 
nature is just the opposite of the nature 
of Jesus. He persuades the people to dis- 
obey God; he puts bad thoughts into their 
minds, and makes them believe that they 
may do what God has told them not to do; 
that there is not much harm in doing such 
things as lying, stealing, cheating, cursing, 
swearing, and so on. 

It was this same Satan that came to 
Adam and Eve when they were in the beau- 
tiful garden, and told them a lie; and per- 
suaded them to disobey God. He comes to 
little boys and girls, and puts many bad 
thoughts into their minds; and if he can 
get them to do little things at first, after a 
while he tries to get them to do greater 
ones; such as robbing and murdering, and 
everything that is displeasing in the sight 
of God. 

All the wicked thoughts that come into 



52 THE NATURE OF SATAN. 

our minds, are from Satan. He tries to 
make the people believe, and does make 
many believe that there ( is no pleasure 
in loving and obeying God; that there 
is much more pleasure and happiness in 
wickedness and disobedience to God. This 
is one of the greatest lies that he has ever 
made the people believe; for we know that 
God, who gives us everything we have, is 
the only one who can make us happy. 
Satan has not the desire nor the power to 
make us happy. 

Satan also puts pride into the people's 
hearts, makes them think they are pretty, 
and that they *must have fine clothes, and 
follow all the vain, foolish fashions of the 
world, and be gay and gaudy. This spirit 
often gets into little boys and girls, and O, 
how hateful it makes them appear! 

ISTo one who loves God, thinks more of 
those who are proud, and dressed fine and 
fashionable; and it is very hateful in the 
sight of God; and those who have this spirit 
are not his children, nor the followers of 
Jesus. Please read the following passages 
in the Bible: Romans 8:9; Proverbs 16 : 5; 
6: 16, 17, and 21 : 4; Isaiah 2: 12; Psalm 
101 : 5, and 119 : 5; Jeremiah 13 : 15;Malachi 



THE ^ATUEE OF SATA2L 53 

4:1, and Luke 16 : 15. Much more is said 
in the Bible against the proud. 

But why does Satan put such bad 
thoughts into the minds, of the people to 
make them disobey God ? Because he can 
never be with God in heaven; therefore he 
tries to keep the people from getting there. 
His place is in hell, a place of punishment, 
pain and misery, and where all the wicked, 
who disobey God, will have to go. 

My dear little readers, Do you want to 
be happy in this world ? Then when you 
are tempted, that is, when Satan puts bad 
thoughts into your hearts, to disobey God, 

o do things which you know are wrong, 
and contrary to God's holy word, do it not; 
but pray that God may help you to resist, 
and turn away from the temptation. 

Satan also came to Jesus, when he was 
on this earth, and told him lies, and tried 
to get him to disobey God. He tried to 
get Jesus to fall down and worship him; 
but Jesus said, "Get thee behind me, 
Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship 
the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt 
thou serve." 

We read in the Bible that if we draw 
near to God, he will draw near to us; that 



54 THE I\ T ATL T KE OF SATAN- 

is, if we pray to him, lie will hear us, and 
give us what we need. Also if we resist the 
devil, he will flee from us; that is, if we do 
not obey him when he tempts us, he will 
leave us alone again. 

Now my dear little friends, I hope you 
will not let yourselves be led away by this 
wicked Satan, to disobey God, who is so 
good to you, in keeping you alive, and 
giving you so many things to make you 
comfortable and happy in this world. I 
hope you will pray to him often to give 
you his Hoi} 7 " Spirit, and strengthen you, 
that you may resist the temptations of 
Satan, and become one of the followers 
of Jesus. 

PRAYER. 

0, almighty God, I come unto thee, who 
art my Creator, and boldest my life in thy 
hands, and art doing me so much good 
from day to daj^. I pray thee, in the name 
of Jesus, that thou wouldst draw near unto 
me and hear me. Satan often tempts me 
to disobey thee, and do what thou in thy 
holy word, hast commanded me not to do; 
and O Lord, I find that I am too weak 
always to resist his temptations. Do thou 



THE NATTJEE OP SATAN. 55 

therefore, I pray thee, give me grace and 
strength to resist him, and let me not be 
led away from thee. Y\ T atch and guard 
over me by day and by night, as I am 
young and easily led astray. Lead me 
continually by thy Spirit, and at last save 
me, for Jesus' sake. Amen. 

'Tis Satan leads our souls astray, 
In paths of wickedness and shame ; 

Our gracious Lord to disobey, 
And bring dishonor on his name. 

,r fis Satan fills our hearts with pride, 

With hatred, vanity and lies- — 
With snares and nets on every side, 

To catch our souls, he often tries. 

Great God, we come to thee for aid, 
That we from Satan's snares may flee ; 

O let our hopes on thee be staid, 

And grant that we may walk with thee. 



56 REPENTANCE. 

CHAFFER XII. 

REPENTANCE: 

As by the disobedience of Adam and 
Eve, we all became sinners, and enemies to 
God; so by the obedience of Jesus, his Son, 
in coming to this world, teaching us the 
will of his Father, and dying for us, we 
may again become his friends. But before 
we can be his friends, after we become old 
enough to understand the will of God, we 
must become obedient to all that Jesus 
has taught ns. 

All the children that die before they 
know what is right, or what God wants 
them to do, are taken to heaven, and are 
happy forever; but those who grow up to be 
men and women, and know what is wrong, 
and what God wants them to do, and what 
he does not want them to do, must repent 
before they can begin to do good, or 
please God. 

As some of you who read this little 
book are perhaps old enough to know 
what is right or wrong, I will try to tell 
you what it is to repent. 

A short time before Jesus began to teach 



KEPENTAKCE. 57 

the people, and tell tliem what they must 
do to be saved, and be happy after they 
die, there was a man named John, whom 
God had sent to tell the people about 
Jesus, and what they must do, so that they 
might be ready to follow him when he 
would come. He told them that Jesus was 
coming, and would soon be here, 

It is said in the Bible that John was a 
man sent from God, to prepare the way of 
the Lord, to make his paths straight; and 
when he came, he said to the people, " Re- 
pent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand," Matthew 3 : 2. 

When Jesus came and began to preach 
to the people, he too said, "Repent ye, and 
believe the Gospel," Mark 1 : 15. When 
he sent his disciples out to preach, they 
also told the people to repent, Mark 6 : 12. 
Thus we can read in many places in the 
New Testament, that all who want to follow 
Jesus, must repent. 

Have you ever been naughty, and diso- 
bedient to your father or mother? And did 
you afterwards feel bad and sorry for it, 
when you thought of their love and kind- 
ness toward you, and that you had now 
disobeyed, and given them such pain? Did 



58 EEPENTANCE. 

you feel so sorry for what you had done 
that you cried about it, and could not 
sleep nor be happy anywhere? Did you 
then go to your parent, and say, "I have 
been very wicked in disobeying you, and I 
am very sorry for it, and I am determined 
never to do so again, will you please forgive 
me?" If you have done all this, then you 
have repented. 

Now suppose any of my young readers, 
or any other person, who had thus diso- 
beyed their parents, and afterwards repent- 
ed, and asked their forgiveness, they have 
only repented towards their parents, and 
this is not what is meant in the Bible, when 
it says we must repent ; it means we have dis- 
obeyed God, and must repent of our sins. 

God is indeed very good toward us. 
He is our Creator, that is, he made us; and 
it is he that keeps our life in us, and it is 
he that gives us all the good things that we 
have, and all that we enjoy; and it is he 
that sent Jesus, his dear Son into the world 
to die for us; and yet the people forget 
how good and kind God is toward them, 
and they become very wicked and disobe- 
dient toward him. 

After children have grown up to be men 



REPENTANCE. 59 

and women, and know that they are sin- 
ners in the sight of God, then, before he 
will accept them or own them as his chil- 
dren, they must repent; that is, they must 
become sorry for their disobedience toward 
him, who has been good toward them all 
the days of their lives, and must ask him to 
forgive them, and accept them as his chil- 
dren, for Jesns' sake, and promise him that 
they will hereafter obey and love him and 
keep his commandments. 

I hope my little readers understand me, 
and know what is meant by repentance. I 
hope too, and pray, that all who are old 
enough to know that they have disobeyed 
God, will think of his mercy and goodness 
toward them; and when they feel sorry for 
their sins, they will no longer disobey him; 
for it is then that God's Holy Spirit is 
speaking to them, and convincing them 
that they ought not to disobey their Crea- 
tor, and that they ought to come to him at 
once, and have their sins forgiven, and 
become his obedient children. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty God, I come to thee with 
shame and trembling, because I feel that I 



60 REPENTANCE. 

have sinned against thee, and am not worthy 
that thou shonldst own me as thy child, 
yet I feel that if thou wilt not have mercy 
on me, and forgive me, I shall forever 
perish. I have disobeyed thee, but 0, I 
pray thee Father, for Jesus' sake, forgive 
me, and cleanse me from all my sins. Cre- 
ate in me a clean heart and renew a right 
spirit within me. O, turn me not away, but 
help me to become a follower of Jesus, and 
give me the power to become thy child. 
Hear me, Lord, and accept my prayer, 
and save me for Jesus' sake. Amen. 

We all are sinners in God's sight, 

And oft have disobeyed his word; 
Have done the wrong, and left the right, 

And thus have grieved our gracious Lord. 

But he is merciful and kind, 

If we repent he will forgive — 
We all with him may pardon find, 

And be prepared with him to live, 

The Lord is gracious, kind and good. 

His love and pity never ends ; 
He gives us life, and health, and food, 

And heavenly blessings too, he sends. 

O Lord, we pray thee, now forgive 

The sins and follies of our youth ; 
Prepare our souls with thee to live, 

And let us ne'er forsake thy truth. 




& 



mm 







" I am the good Shepherd, and know my 
sheep, and am known of mine," John 10 : 14. 



62 TEE GOOD SHEPHERD. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE GOOD SHEPHEBD. 

Our Lord Jesus says, "I am the good 
Shepherd. 55 Do you know what a shepherd 
is ? It is a man whose work is to watch 
and take care of a flock of sheep. A good 
shepherd watches his sheep very carefully; 
he leads them out where there is good pas- 
ture. When the sun is very hot, and the 
sheep get thirsty, he leads them to some 
clear, cooling stream, where they may drink. 

When night comes, he leads them home 
and puts them in a place of shelter, where 
they are safe from the storm, and out of 
danger from wild beasts or dogs. When 
any of the little lambs are so weak that 
they cannot walk, he takes them up in his 
arms and carries them. 

Jesus calls those who love and follow 
him, his sheep; so if we love him we are 
his sheep. Now he says, "I am the good 
Shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life 
for the sheep. 55 Jesus died for us when he 
was nailed to the cross. 

He says that when one that is hired to 
take care of the sheep, but does not own 



THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 63 

them, sees the wolf coming, he runs away 
and lets the wolf catch the sheep, because he 
is only hired, and does not care for them. 

If we love and obey Jesus, he will own 
us as his sheep and lambs. He died that 
we might be his ; and if we become willing 
to follow him and be his, he will take care 
of us. When he sees the wolf coming, that 
is, when he sees that Satan wants to catch 
us and lead us away into wickedness, to 
destroy us, he will stand by us, like a good 
shepherd, and will not let us be caught. 

The little, weak lambs he takes up in 
his arms. 0, what a pleasant thought for 
you children! If you want to be Jesus' 
little lambs, and follow him, and go along 
with the sheep, but feel weak, he will take 
you up in his arms. 

When the little lambs try to follow the 
shepherd, with the sheep, but are so weak 
that they cannot keep up, they begin to 
bleat; then the shepherd kindly takes them 
up and carries them. Just so you may do. 
When you feel that you are too weak to fol- 
low him, you can pray; then he will hear you, 
and help you. How many of you can say, 

"I am Jesus' little lamb, 
Happy all day long I am ?" 

5 



64 THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 

If we are Jesus' sheep and lambs, then 
we are safe, because he is the good Shepherd, 
and knows us, and will take care of ns. 
David said, "The Lord is my Shepherd; I 
shall not want. He maketh me to lie down 
in green pastures; he leadeth me beside 
the still waters." 

What a pleasant thing it is to have Jesus 
for our Shepherd. Would you not all love to 
be his lambs, and be kindly cared for; and 
when you die that you may have a home 
in heaven with him, and be forever happy ? 

PRAYER. 

O thou great Shepherd, I am a wander- 
ing little lamb, and fear that great enemy, 
that roaring lion, will catch and destroy 
me. 0, I beseech thee, let him not over- 
power me, but do thou rescue me with thy 
strong arm, and take me into thy fold, and 
let me be thy little lamb; and do thou, dear 
Jesus, be my shepherd. Let me never wan- 
der away from thee, into the dangerous 
wilderness of this world. 0, my heavenly 
Father, hear me, and let me always be thy 
obedient child ; and when I die, let me come 
to dwell with thee, and with Jesus, my Shep- 
herd, in that world without end. Amen. 



THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 65 

If Jesus is our Shepherd, 

We shall be safe indeed ; 
For he will kindly care for us, 

And give us all we need. 

If Jesus is our Shepherd, 

What can we want beside ? 
For he will lead us safely on, 

And will for us provide. 

If Jesus is our Shepherd, 

He'll keep us safe from harm ; 
When we are weak, and faint and tired, 

He takes us in his arms. 

If Jesus is our Shepherd, 

And we his sheep and lambs ; 
We need not fear, for he will keep 

Us safely in his hands. 

Jesus, be thou our Shepherd, 

And let us know thy voice ; 
And may we. when we hear thee speak, 

Exceedingly rejoice. 

And when the night approaches, 

Then do thou quickly come, 
And take us all to dwell with thee, 

In thy eternal home. 



66 J^SUS THE WAY. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

JESUS THE WAY. 

" I am the way, the truth, and the life ; no 
man cometh unto the Father, but by me." 
John 14 : 6, 

Jesus, our Savior spoke these words, 
and called himself the way. I will try to 
make my little readers understand what 
he meant. 

Jesns came into this world to tell the 
people what they must do to get to heaven, 
to God, the Father; and he not only told 
them what they must do, but he also did 
just as he told them they should do. 

He is the icay, in this, that he told us, 
and showed us what to do. When he said, 
" I am the way " he meant the same as if he 
had said, I am your teacher, and your ex- 
ample; if you do as I tell you, and as I 
myself do, you will get to the Father. 

Again, he is the way, because he died 
for us, and by his dying he made it possi- 
ble for us to go to the Father; for if he had 
not died, we never could have been made 
happy ; we never could have gone to heaven 



JESUS THE WAY. 67 

to the Father; but because he died, we may 
have everlasting life. 

If we would walk in the way to the 
Father, we nmst do everything that Jesus 
has told us. He says, "If any man will 
come after me, let him deny himself, and 
take up his cross daily, and follow ine." 
To take rip the cross, means* that we must 
do everything that he has told us, however 
hard it may seem for us to do; and do 
nothing that he has told us not to do, how- 
ever much we may want to do it. 

Jesus also says that whosoever forsakes 
not all that he has, cannot be his disciple. 
A disciple is a follower If we do what he 
tells us we are his disciples. And to for- 
sake all that we have, means to forsake all 
worldly pleasures, and all that we love in 
this world, and love only Jesus, and obey 
him in all that he has told us. 

Now I will tell you some things which 
Jesus has told us that we must do, and 
also what he has told us not to do. There 
are many people who believe that it is not 
wrong to swear. A profane person swears 
by using the name of God, or the name of 
Jesus, or heaven, or any other name. A 
person also swears when he holds up his 



68 JESUS THE WAY. 

hand towards heaven, and is asked by an- 
other, "Do you solemnly swear that yon 
will tell the truth, and nothing but the 
truth,' 5 and he answers, Yes. 

Jesus said, " But I say unto you, Swear 
not at all; neither by heaven, * * nor by 
the earth, * * nor by Jerusalem, * * nor 
by thy head; * * but let your communi- 
cation be, Yea, yea; Kay, nay; for whatso- 
ever is more than these, cometh of evil." 

It is not right to say, By my life; or, As 
sure as I live; for this would be more than 
yes, or no, and would be evil, and wrong; 
because it would be doing what Jesus said 
we must not do. 

There are many people who become 
angry when others do them any wrong, 
and do the same to them again. When 
they are struck, they strike back; and 
whenever they are abused or ill-treated in 
any way, they always try to return it. 

Jesus said, "But I say unto you, that 
ye resist not evil.' 5 This means, that if 
others strike you, or do anything mean 
towards you, you must not do the same to 
them; but do them a kind act if you can. 
There are also many who hate all that 



JESUS THE WAY. 69 

misuse them. Those who misuse us, and 
treat us meanly, are our enemies. 

Jesus said, "Love your enemies; bless 
them that curse you; do good to them that 
hate you, and pray for them which despite- 
fally use you." One of Jesus' disciples 
also says, "If thine enemy hunger, feed 
him; jf he thirst, give him drink. Be not 
overcome of evil, but overcome evil with 
good." 

I will yet give you those beautiful words, 
called, the "Golden Rule." They are the 
words of Jesus. He says, "Therefore all 
things whatsoever ye would that men 
should do to you, do ye even so to them." 

Now, dear young reader, Will you try 
to go in the way which Jesus has told us. 
Those who love Jesus, and go in this way, 
are also in the way of wisdom; and the 
Bible says, the ways of wisdom "are ways 
of pleasantness, and all her paths are 



peace." 



PRAYER. 



Our Father who art in heaven, I thank 
thee that thou hast sent Jesus, thy Son into 
the world to be the Way by which we may 
come to thee. Do thou, I entreat thee, give 



70 JESUS THE WAY. . 

me grace and strength to walk therein, and 
to do what he has told us. Make me to 
hate the way of sin and Satan, and put it 
into my heart to love the true, and living 
Way, Christ Jesus. Give me thy Holy Spirit 
to guide me in the Way that will lead me to 
thee. I ask these blessings in the name 
of Jesus. Amen. 

There is a way which leads to God, 

All others only go astray — 

The way of life — by few 'tis trod, 

'Tis Christ, the true and living way. 

* 
He is the way, the truth, the life, 

Besides no other way is given ; 

On which a pilgrim may be safe, 

And which will lead him up to heaven. 

Then why, O sinner, will you choose, 
A way which leads away from God ? 

As on this way your life you'll lose, 
Like all who on it e'er have trod- 

Then on this way no longer go, 

But choose the way that's safe and true ; 

Forsake the way of sin and woe, 
And Christ, the living way pursue. 

If you in Jesus will confide, 

He'll lead you to the Father's dome ; 

Where you for ever may abide, 
In peace and happiness at home. 



HEAVEK. 71 

CHAPTER XV. 

HEAVEN. 

What is heaven? It is the dwelling- 
place of the great God, of Jesus, his Son, 
and of the holy angels; and it will be the 
everlasting home for the souls of all the 
good people who have loved God, and kept 
his commandments. 

Where is heaven ? We cannot tell where 
it is, but people who believe that there is a 
heaven, suppose it is up in the skies, above 
the sun and the beautiful, bright, shining 
stars. But it matters not where it is; it is 
enough for us to know that there is such a 
place, and that if we love God, and do 
his will, we shall all some time be gath- 
ered there, and then we shall also know 
where it is. 

What kind of a place is heaven ? This 
is also impossible for us to tell. But from 
what we learn about it in the Bible, it must 
be very beautiful and glorious. It is some- 
times called the "New Jerusalem, "and some- 
times the "Holy Jerusalem," because all that 
dwell there are holy, good and pure. The 



72 HEAYE1ST. 

City (it is also called a city), is said to be 
pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the 
City has no need of the sun, neither of the 
moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God 
lightens it, and the Lamb (Jesus) is the 
light thereof; and there shall be no night 
there. 

Who, and what kind of beings shall 
live in heaven ? This has already been told. 
All who are there now, or ever will be there, 
are, and must be holy, which means, without 
sin, pure, like God, and like Jesus. "And 
there shall in no wise enter it anything 
that defileth (that sins), neither whatsoever 
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie." 

The number of those which shall live in 
heaven will be more than any man can 
count. They will be ten thousand times 
ten thousand, and thousands of thousands. 
And those gathered there from the earth, 
who are saved by the death of Jesus, by 
obeying and following him, shall be from 
all parts of the earth; of all nations, and 
kindred, and people, and tongues (lan- 
guages), and they shall all be clothed in 
white. 

What shall those do, who live in heaven? 
They shall do whatsoever God bids them; 



HEAVEN. 73 

and they sing praises to God and the Lamb, 
and all the angels shall join in the singing, 
and their song shall be, " Worthy is the 
Lamb that was slain to receive power, and 
riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, 
and glory, and blessing." And, " Blessing, 
and honor, and glory, and power, be nnto 
him that sitteth upon the throne, and nnto 
the Lamb for ever and ever." 

And they shall hunger no more, neither 
thirst any more; neither shall the snn light 
on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb 
which is in the midst of the throne shall 
feed them, and shall lead them nnto living 
fountains of waters; and God shall wipe 
away all tears from their eyes. 

Will they be happy in heaven? They 
certainly will be very happy; for the Bible 
says that there shall be no more death, 
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall 
there be any more pain. And to be free 
from all the troubles which people must 
suffer on this earth, and to be in the com- 
pany of the holy angels, and of Jesus, our 
dear Savior, and with the great God who 
created us, must surely make those who get 
there unspeakably happy. 

Their happiness will be so great, that it 



74 HEAVEN. 

cannot be expressed; for we are told that 
"eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
have entered into the heart of man, the 
things which God hath prepared for them 
that love him." 

Will there be much room in heaven? 
Yes, there is room enough for all who have 
ever lived on the earth; for all who are 
living now, and for all who shall hereafter 
live on it, if they only all loved and obeyed 
God. Jesus said, u In my Father's house 
(in heaven) are many mansions ; if it were 
not so, I would have told you, I go to pre- 
pare a place for you." By the many man- 
sions, we believe he meant, there is much 
room there. 

Who shall not get to heaven? All those 
who have disobeyed God while they lived 
on the earth, and did not repent and have 
their sins forgiven, and received a new 
heart. Of such wicked persons, the Bible 
says, that " without (out of heaven) are 
dogs, and sorcerers (those who do wicked 
things by the power of Satan), and murder- 
ers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth 
and maketh a lie." Heaven is sometimes 
called the kingdom of God, and the Bible 
tells us that no unrighteous, nor thieves, 



HEAVEN. 75 

nor covetous, nor drunkards shall enter 
into the kingdom of God. 

Dear young readers, Do you not wish 
to go to heaven? O yes, I know you do. 
We all do. I am sure I do; and I wish to 
meet every one of you there. Will you not 
try so to live, that God will love you; that 
Jesus will love you, and be your nearest 
and best Friend, and help you to be good, 
and follow him and at last take you home 
to heaven. May the Lord bless you, and 
help you to keep his commandments. May 
he lead us all through the many dangers 
of this world, that w e may all meet in those 
mansions above, where we shall never part. 

" Oh, we shall happy be, 
When from sin and sorrow free — 
Lord, we shall live with thee, 
Forever there.' ' 

PRAYER 

Lord, I thank thee that thou hast 
promised us a home with thee, at thy right 
hand in heaven, where there will be fulness 
of joy forever. Help me, dear Father, to do 
thy holy will. Forgive my sins, and pre- 
pare me for that holy place. May I love 
and obey thee, and labor for thee while I 



76 HEAVED. 

live, that thou mayest say to me, "Well 
done, good and faithful servant, enter thou 
into the joys of thy Lord." These and all 
other blessings which I need, I ask in the 
name of Jesus. Amen. 

There is a rest, a peaceful rest, 

To weary pilgrims given ; 
Where they shall be forever blest — 

It is a home in heaven. 

How pure and holy is the place, 

How peaceful, and how sweet ! 
There we shall see our Savior's face, 

And worship at his feet. 

There all tha holy saints of God, 

Shall meet around the throne ; 
And join in praises, long and loud, 

To Christ, the holy One. 

There in that holy, happy place, 

No unclean thing can go ; 
No one but those who sought, by grace, 

To serve their God below. 



PARTING WORDS. 77 

PARTING WORDS TO MY READERS. 

Now dear young friends, I hope you've read 

This little book with care ; 
And may the Lord his blessings shed 

Upon you, is my prayer. 

My heart for you was filled with love, 

And so I undertook, 
With help and wisdom from above, 

To write this little book. 

And now I pray the Lord, that he 

His blessing may impart ; 
That all these truths may firmly be 

Impressed upon each heart. 

I want to meet you all above, 

Where all is bright and fair ; 
There all is peace, and joy, and love, 

And all are happy there. 

But if we in that blessed place 

Would dwell and happy be, 
We here must seek our Savior's face, 

And be from sin made free. 

Then we must work both night and day, 

And turn away from sin ; 
We often to the Lord must pray, 

To make us pure and clean. 

Now, dear young reader, let me say, 

To you a friendly word ; 
I love your souls, and O, I pray, 

That you may love the Lord. 



78 PARTING WORDS. 

If you to him your hearts will give, 
And have your sins forgiven, 

You will be happy while you live, 
And have a home in heaven. 

To walk in wisdom's holy ways, 

May your desires increase ; 
"Her ways are ways of pleasantness, 

And all her paths are peace, " 

Let the commandments of the Lord 
Be stamped upon your heart : 

Obey the precepts of his word, 
Any never from them part. 

And now, dear readers, great and small, 
Farewell — it pains my heart — 

I wish to meet you, one and all, 
Where we shall never part. 

There we shall all so happy be, 

And never, never die. 
Our Savior's glorious face shall see, 

For evermore. Good-by. 

And now, dear Jesus, take these lambs 

Into thy special care ; 
Help them to walk in thy commands, 

And all thy blessings share. 

Keep them, I pray thee, near to thee, 

Until they die, and then, 
Take them where they may happy be 

With thee at home. Amen. 



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